On March 24 members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation and the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) were out in force in Baltimore to demand an end to racist police harassment and aggression and to call for justice for Fredy Martinez.
Martinez, a native of El Salvador and a resident of Baltimore City, was assaulted, frisked and humiliated on March 17 by a Maryland Transit Administration police officer as he and his partner shopped at a crowded public market. The cop shoved Martinez, who was breaking no laws, against a fruit stand and frisked him for drugs while publicly humiliating him by calling him a drug user. These “stop and frisk” tactics are common in Baltimore, especially in the Lexington Market area of downtown, a busy pedestrian area that is predominately packed with poor and working class people of color.
The protest outside the market drew unanimous support from the people who were shopping, waiting for buses, or just walking in the area. Some joined the protest, chanted for justice for Martinez and carried signs that read “Jail Racist Cops.” Several others told their personal stories of police aggression and intimidation in Baltimore.
The PSL demands justice for Fredy Martinez, and an end to racist stop and frisk tactics that are only intended to intimidate and terrorize working class people and people of color in Baltimore and around the U.S.
